Elderly patients must beware opioid painkillers

Taken for a ride

According to the CDC, car accidents are no longer the leading cause of injury-related deaths.

No, now that honor belongs to… poisoning.

Think of all the cars on the road. Millions! And yet, you’re more likely to die of poisoning than a car accident.

And if you’re thinking this is somehow related to kids drinking household cleaners, guess again. No, for those who die of poisoning, nine out of ten cases involve drugs. And the most common type of drug in these poisonings is prescription painkillers.

And this is where today’s ethical problem rears its head. Is poisoning the leading cause of injury deaths because people are paid to look the other way? Actually, worse than look the other way…look right at us and lie to our faces?

Not even trying

If you’re geriatric, the American Geriatrics Society sold you out. Simple as that.

Three years ago, an AGS panel set new guidelines for opioid painkiller use. Basically, the new recommendations said this. If you have moderate to severe pain, don’t bother with over-the-counter NSAID drugs. Use opioid painkillers instead.

Now, normally I’d be in favor of avoiding NSAIDs. But not in this case. Not for moderate pain. That’s like saying firecrackers are dangerous to play with. You should play with dynamite instead.

It’s just an insane recommendation.

Start with addiction. That’s the most dangerous opioid side effect, because it compounds all these side effects…

• Depression
• Confusion and other cognitive problems
• Increased risk of falling and fractures
• Respiratory suppression
• Constipation
• Bowel obstruction
• Sleep apnea
• Apathy

Ironically, increased pain sensitivity is another side effect. And that can fuel addiction.

For anyone, this is a daunting list of problems. But it’s especially frightening for the elderly. And it’s made worse by the fact that many of them are given medication by health care or nursing home workers. So they may not even know what they’re taking or how much.

So why in the world would an AGS panel recommend the expanded use of opioids?

It would appear the fix was in. And, as usual, that means Big Pharma cash was flowing.

Of the 10-member panel, at least five had financial connections to companies that produce opioid drugs. The panel chairman had no industry links when the recommendations were released. But he was previously a paid speaker on behalf of companies that made these drugs.

Even to industry insiders, these connections stink to high heavens.

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the president of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing put it bluntly. He said, “Finding prominent experts without these conflicts of interest isn’t very hard.”

He added, it looked like, “they didn’t even try.”

But it appears they were trying very hard to establish loyalty to Big Pharma purse strings. And apparently it worked. Over the past few years, sales of opioid painkillers to the elderly increased dramatically.

When you’re in pain, you need and deserve relief. But it is critical to take the lowest dosage of the safest medicine possible. And despite what the AGS wants us to believe, the numbers don’t lie. It’s just another marketing strategy for Big Pharma’s poison.

Sources:
“Narcotics use for chronic pain soars among seniors” John Fauber and Ellen Gabler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/29/12, jsonline.com